New York|Teenager Sentenced to 25 Years for Killing Girl Who Said No to the Prom

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Teenager Sentenced to 25 Years for Killing Girl Who Said No to the Prom

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Christopher Plaskon in court in March. He pleaded no contest to murder in the killing of his classmate, Maren Sanchez, 16, in 2014.CreditCreditPool photo by Ned Gerard

By The Associated Press

June 6, 2016

MILFORD, Conn. — A teenager was sentenced on Monday to 25 years in prison for fatally stabbing a classmate after she turned down his invitation to the junior prom.

A judge sentenced the teenager, Christopher Plaskon, in Superior Court here. Mr. Plaskon, 19, pleaded no contest to murder in March in the killing ofMaren Sanchez, 16, inside Jonathan Law High School in Milford on April 25, 2014, the day of the prom.

Ms. Sanchez’s parents said after the hearing that they were frustrated that the prison sentence was not longer. Mr. Plaskon will be eligible for parole in 13 years under new state juvenile sentencing laws.

“The message that it sends is that if you commit a crime as heinous as murder in the state of Connecticut, you’re going to do very little time, you’re going to walk out with a college degree and you have your life back at one point,” Ms. Sanchez’s father, Jose Sanchez, said. “And it’s not the message that we want to send to the children in our schools when this has become an epidemic throughout the country.”

While prosecutors said there was evidence from several sources that the attack was prompted by Ms. Sanchez’s rejection of Mr. Plaskon’s prom invitation, Mr. Plaskon’s lawyer, Edward Gavin, said the stabbing was not related to the prom. Family and friends of Mr. Plaskon had told the police he was upset with Ms. Sanchez for rejecting his invitation.

The attack happened in a first-floor hallway around 7:15 a.m. Students described an emotional scene, with people crying as police officers and paramedics swarmed the school.

Mr. Plaskon was taken to the principal’s office in bloody clothing and told the police, “I did it; just arrest me,” according to the affidavit.

A version of this article appears in print on , Section A, Page 17 of the New York edition with the headline: Teenager Gets 25-Year Sentence for Prom Killing. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe